Lost Angels
Lost Angels | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Hugh Hudson |
Written by | Michael Weller |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Juan Ruiz Anchía |
Edited by | David Gladwell |
Music by | Philippe Sarde |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1.2 million (US) |
Lost Angels (also known as The Road Home) is a 1989 independent film directed by Hugh Hudson and written by Michael Weller. It stars Donald Sutherland and Adam Horovitz. It was filmed in and around San Antonio, Texas. The film was entered into the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.[1]
Plot
[edit]In southern California, Tim Doolan is released from juvenile detention, and departs with his mother, Felicia, and her new husband, Barton Marks, arriving at a psychiatric facility for troubled youth called Valley Acres. Tim refuses to acclimate to the establishment and when he becomes belligerent, the hospital's orderlies are forced to restrain him. He remembers a night from the prior month when he, his half-brother Andy, and their gang, the D.A.B.’s, entered into an altercation with rivals from the 10th St. Gang. Afterwards, Tim spent the night with Cheryl Anderson, the girlfriend of his friend, Link; Cheryl proceeded to drive her mother’s convertible into their swimming pool out of frustration with her chronic alcoholism. The following morning, Tim's abusive estranged father Richard arrived at the police station with a gun and narcotics he located in Tim’s bedroom. With Felicia away for several weeks on her honeymoon with Barton, and Richard unwilling to watch him, Tim was left unsupervised, and a judge ordered him to a juvenile detention center until she returned.
Later, at Valley Acres, psychiatrist Dr. Charles Loftis meets with Tim, recognizing that the adolescent does not deserve to be there. However, Tim is barred from leaving the premises, and begins attending group sessions with others, including Cheryl, who apologizes to Tim for getting him into trouble, as her mother had her committed to the facility. Seeing an opportunity, Tim climbs over the wall and unsuccessfully attempts escape. Loftis promises to assist Tim if the boy remains in the compound. Sometime later, Tim has sex with Cheryl in a shower stall. During family counseling with Loftis, Richard verbally abuses Felicia, and insults Barton; Loftis scolds the adults, reminding them to focus on Tim. Cheryl is soon released, despite Loftis’s belief that she needs to remain. Hoping to reunite with Cheryl, Tim decides to be on his best behavior so that he can earn his release. After receiving off-ground privileges, Tim’s half-brother, Andy, arrives to take him out for the day. Arriving at Felicia’s house, Tim learns that Barton sent him to Valley Acres and has turned his bedroom into an office. He storms out and visit Cheryl, who is now living alone in her mother's empty house, as her mother has sold it following her committal to Valley Acres. He becomes worried when he discovers that Cheryl has turned to drugs, and after obtaining Loftis’s address, takes Cheryl to get help. However, Loftis, unhappy about the house call, accuses Tim of going AWOL and reports him to Valley Acres, but Tim returns to the facility independently. Feeling betrayed, Tim vandalizes the facility, spray-painting graffiti on the walls. Loftis arrives and encourages Tim to fight him, allowing the youth to release his pent-up energy before calming down and then painting over the graffiti.
Andy telephones Tim, furious about his absence from a gang fight, and pressures him into partaking in a rematch fight the following weekend. Learning en route to the destination of Andy’s plot to engage in a drive-by shooting on the 10th St. Gang, he initially refuses to participate, but Andy coerces him into pointing the gun at the rival gang leader. However, as Andy drives by the rival gang, Tim fires at the ground instead. While fleeing, Andy crashes into another vehicle, and Tim escapes from both the scene of the collision and the rival gang as Andy frantically drives away. He searches for Andy at Richard’s house but encounters Richard, demanding to converse with him, and father and son finally embrace each other. Andy arrives outside with Cheryl in tow, and Tim holds him at gunpoint and fires shots near his head, frightening him. Ignoring Cheryl's attempts at reasoning with him, Tim escapes to Loftis’s house. However, Loftis, drunk and unsympathetic after having recently separated from his wife, demands that Tim depart the premises, but the youth falls asleep in a spare bedroom and the following morning, asks Loftis to take him in, admitting that he has been deprived of a stable home environment throughout his entire youth. Loftis informs Tim that Felicia has inquired about him, and drops him off at her house, promising to ensure he will ultimately never return to Valley Acres.
Cast
[edit]- Donald Sutherland as Dr. Charles Loftis
- Adam Horovitz as Tim "Chino" Doolan
- Amy Locane as Cheryl Anderson
- Don Bloomfield as Andy "Natas" Doolan
- Celia Weston as Felicia Doolan Marks
- Graham Beckel as Richard Doolan
- Patricia Richardson as Mrs. Anderson
- Ron Frazier as Barton Marks
- Joe D'Angerio as Sweeney
- William O'Leary as Link
- Kevin Corrigan as Gata
- Gary Riley as Spooky
- Michael Cunningham as D.A.B. Kid
- Leonard Porter Salazar as Paco
- Jonathan Del Arco as Angel
- Celia Newman as Paco's Girl "Maria"
- David Herman as Carlo
- Max Perlich as Frankie
- Nina Siemaszko as Merilee
- Kevin Tighe as Dr. Gaeyl
- John C. McGinley as Dr. Farmer
- Frances Fisher as Judith Loftis
- Lee Wilkof as Ted Bingham
- James N. Harrell as Shelby
- Jack Gold as Judge
- Keone Young as Atty. Victor Eng
- Park Overall as Richard Doolan's Girlfriend
- Pauly Shore as Kid #3
References
[edit]- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Lost Angels". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
External links
[edit]- 1989 films
- 1989 independent films
- 1980s teen drama films
- American teen drama films
- Films set in psychiatric hospitals
- Films set in Los Angeles
- Films shot in San Antonio
- Films directed by Hugh Hudson
- Films scored by Philippe Sarde
- 1989 drama films
- 1980s English-language films
- 1980s American films
- Orion Pictures films